NASA's Artemis II Mission Completes Lunar Flyby with Crew on Return to Earth

mission launched on March 31, 2026, carrying four astronauts: commander Reid Wiseman, pilot Victor Glover, mission specialist Christina Koch, and Canadian Space Agency astronaut Jeremy Hansen.

The crew performed a 10-day uncrewed test flight of the Orion spacecraft, orbiting the moon without landing. The mission achieved a closest approach to the lunar surface of 7,000 kilometers during the flyby. m.

Eastern time on April 8 as they traveled around the far side of the moon. This marked the first such journey since Apollo 17 in 1972. The crew reported losing track of Earth days during the transit.

set a new record for the farthest distance traveled by humans from Earth, surpassing previous benchmarks.

The mission celebrated Jeremy Hansen's first spaceflight, with a special message from Apollo 16 astronaut Charlie Duke delivered ahead of the flyby. The crew named a moon crater after Carroll Wiseman, the late wife of commander Reid Wiseman, who died in 2020, during an emotional exchange with mission control in Houston. President Trump spoke with the astronauts following the lunar journey.

The conversation focused on the mission's role in NASA's long-term plans for moon and Mars exploration, which Trump initiated during his first term.

“Humans have probably not evolved to see what we’re seeing. It is truly hard to describe. It is amazing.”

The Orion spacecraft is equipped with 15 vehicle-mounted lenses and over a dozen portable optical systems, including Nikon D5 DSLR cameras with 14-24mm and 80-400mm lenses, GoPro cameras, video encoders, tablets with webcams, and iPhones 17 for photos and video without internet connectivity.

Astronauts captured images of a solar eclipse, an Earthset below the lunar horizon, and Earth through the spacecraft's windows. To photograph the moon and Earth from inside Orion, the crew turned off interior lights to minimize window glare. Reid Wiseman photographed Earth shortly after the trans-lunar injection burn on April 2, following the spacecraft's departure from Earth's orbit.

The imagery provides views for mission control and the public. The first images from the far side of the moon, taken at 7,000 km, confirm NASA's readiness for future lunar missions.

Engagement Houston, home to NASA's Johnson Space Center, hosted mission control and drew crowds celebrating the event. The mission evoked strong emotions among Americans, particularly in the Houston area, known as Space City. Families of the astronauts described the mission as beginning at their assignment to the crew.

The Artemis II journey is the sixth day into the mission as of April 8, with the crew on the return leg toward Earth, scheduled for splashdown on April 10. Graphics and updates from NASA detail the astronauts' positions and explorations during the far side transit.

The mission supports NASA's Artemis program goals for sustained lunar presence and preparation for Mars. Public interest included comparisons to video games depicting space isolation, though these are separate from mission operations.